Ricky Hatton rejects De La Hoya fight

Hatton rejects De La Hoya fight

Jun 10, 2008 08:28 AM

LONDON–British welterweight Ricky Hatton has rejected an approach for a September bout against Oscar De La Hoya.

"It would be too soon, Richard only fought two weeks ago," Ray Hatton, the boxing champion's father and manager, told British Broadcasting Corp. Sport. "Oscar likes to fight in September because of Mexican Independence Day, but Richard is chilling out at the moment.''

Hatton beat Juan Lazcano on May 24 to retain his IBO light welterweight title and is not expected to fight again until November.

However, Hatton is hoping Mayweather will come out of retirement because he wants a chance to avenge a loss last December in a WBC welterweight title match. It was Hatton's first loss in 44 fights.

"Obviously, Richard would have liked to have gone over that ground again because he thinks he never gave it his best shot in the first fight," Ray Hatton said. "And you can never say never with Floyd, maybe if the money was there in 12 months he would change his mind."

Oh well would be a good fight although Hatton does'nt look that great anymore - he seems to have lost that explosiveness he had when he was younger.

David Haye is the future of Bristish boxing in my opinion.
(well and Amir Kahn & Kevin Mitchell)

Its funny how Ricky Hatton has become this big international star, whereas Joe Calzaghe is still relatively unkown internationally despite the fact he's undefeated and has been the undesputed Super Middleweight Champion for 12 YEARS!!
(he's also the Lightheavy champ these days after beating Hopkins)

If Calzaghe was American he would be a HUGE star much in the same way Mayweather is.

That's beacuse Joe has only recently has started taking on top fighters. I think Calzaghe is a great fighter but he should have pushed the boat out earlier and taken on more dangerous opponents.

As for Hatton against De La Hoya, it's a good move for Ricky to avoid it. He's never looked good when he's went up in weight and he'd have to go up to meet De La Hoya. It's a great fight for Oscar though as it would give him a convincing win over a top fighter.

I was gutted hatton lost to Mayweather and would love to see a rematch, Hatton wasn't on top form then. Still i'd have to (and i hate-and i mean HATE- to say this) give the fight to Mayweather. The guy can really box. God that pain's me to say that.

Still I'd love to see Hatton knock him down.

As for Calzaghe, i don't know why he hasn't got the hype around him. He just always comes a cross as a mild mannered boy from the Vallies. Funny enough I got an interview where he predicted a win against Hopkins by Split decision. Then again to get the Hopkins fight they threw him against Peter Manfredo as a challange. Honestly. Hopefuly now we'll get some real matches for uk boxers

That's beacuse Joe has only recently has started taking on top fighters. I think Calzaghe is a great fighter but he should have pushed the boat out earlier and taken on more dangerous opponents.

As for Hatton against De La Hoya, it's a good move for Ricky to avoid it. He's never looked good when he's went up in weight and he'd have to go up to meet De La Hoya. It's a great fight for Oscar though as it would give him a convincing win over a top fighter.

Joe left Mickey Duff as he felt that Mickey wasn't making the competitive matches Joe wanted made for him. Certainly the intention to fight the best has been there, and he was asking for a contest with the Brilliant Roy Jones Jr, when Roy was Brilliant. As a regular reader of Boxing News (UK), The Ring (US) I thought he was nuts as Roy was to be avoided. Still, it showed Joe's competitive drive.

Hmm, perhaps you're "harsh but fair" ;-)

For Ricky. There are the usual mixed messages. He steps up in weight and either struggles or suffers his first defeat and he or his trainer Billy Graham (no, not the 1950s fighter nor the Preacher) talk about going back to LW. Yet, when he's been WW, the comment is about how much stronger he is etc. I think perhaps, he should stay LW and avoid Oscar - who's always determined and competitive.

Oscar looked pretty bad during the Forbes fight. Not awful mind you, but not the Oscar of old and Hatton would have a very legitimate shot at beating him. Apparently he fighting Malinagi (sp?) next and that should be a good bout. It'll be interesting to see if Hatton's aggression can neutralize Malinagi's slickness.

As for Calzaghe, I hope he fights Pavlik next. Who wants to see an old RJJ when you could see a battle of undefeated middle/super middleweights? Both of whom throw a ton of punches and have exciting fights. If it goes down (and it might according to Pavlik's manager) I'm saying right now it'll be a candidate for FOTY.

theword you beat me to it, I would LOVE to see a Calzaghe vs. Pavlik fight. I also agree with those saying Calzaghe doesnt have the bigname wins that Hatton has. My guess is, Mayweather would comeout of retirement to fight the winner of a Hatton vs. Day La Hoya match up. You know that ************ loves the greenbacks and that fight would be very very lucrative.

Kelly was shown this weekend on UK TV (Setanta) cable against Gary Lockett. KP is a deceptively able boxer and seems a very hard puncher. He looks like one of those blokes you fail to appreciate when you really should...like just before he knocks you out.

Still, I continue to like Joe - he really has shown the desire to fight anyone so he can be the best and create his own Legend. Any why not? He also won 3 ABA titles (Amateur) which is unheard of and should have been our Olympic rep - the fact that he wasn't is the reason he turned pro. Personally, I hope he Retires undefeated; he ain't getting any younger.

We need someone to crow about (in the UK) so why not Joe? BTW, I'm reading a bio of Rocky Marciano at the moment (yes, really - I read on the train while I'm waiting for my bicycle to be fixed) - so why not another "Undefeated" to argue about in years to come??

The undefeated Jimmy Carruthers, LW Champ in the 1950s came out of Retirement and lost. Unlike his contemporary, Da Rock.